Cigarette collecting machines



Sept. 19, 1961 Filed Oct. 4, 1957 G. D. HORGAN CIGARETTE COLLECTING MACHINES 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 3mm GEORGE DANIEL HORGAN Sept. 19, 1961 G. D. HORGAN 3,000,161

CIGARETTE COLLECTING MACHINES Filed Oct. 4, 1957 5 Sheets-Sheet z awe/Mom GEORGE DANIEL HORGAN an/3W Sept. 1961 G. D. HORGAN 3,000,161

CIGARETTE COLLECTING MACHINES Filed Oct. 4, 1957 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 QYWM'VLOL GEORGE DANIEL HORGAN m smyw Sept. 19, 1961 G. D. HORGAN CIGARETTE COLLECTING MACHINES 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Oct. 4, 1957 GEORGE DANIEL HORGAN Sept. 19, 1961 G. D. HORGAN CIGARETTE COLLECTING MACHINES 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Oct. 4, 1957 62 GEORGE DANIEL HORGAN mjg f United States Patent Filed Oct. 4, 1957, Ser. No. 688,375 Claims priority, application Great Britain Oct. 8, 1956 16 Claims. (Cl. 53-244) This invention relates to cigarette making machines of the continuous rod type and is concerned with the collection of the finished cigarettes as delivered by the machine. The usual practice with such machines is for the cigarettes to be delivered in one or more rows to travelling belts known as collecting or catcher belts from which they are transferred by hand to trays. The trays of ciga rettes can then be removed to machines in which the cigarettes are enclosed in packages or containers, or alternatively the rays can be hung on racks. It is the main object of the present invention to obviate manual handling of the cigarettes in transferring them to trays or equivalent containers whilst at the same time eliminating undesirable shock or shaking of the cigarettes which might lead to loss of tobacco from the ends thereof.

The invention comprises means for receiving cigarettes from a travelling collecting or catcher belt and for delivering the received cigarettes in a controlled manner to a tray or equivalent support or container which can be removed when filled.

The invention further comprises downwardly extending or vertical tube or tubes for receiving the cigarettes in stack formation and having a controllable outlet which can be raised and lowered, and means for horizontally reciprocating a tray or its equivalent beneath the said opening so that cigarettes are delivered thereto in layers by raising the said outlet or outlets by stages, the outlet or outlets being subsequently lowered for a further filling operation.

The invention also comprises an arrangement according to the preceding paragraph in which the tube or each of them is of telescopic construction to permit raising and lowering of the outlet end thereof.

The invention further comprises an arrangement according to any one or more of the preceding three paragraphs including means for feeding a tray or the like into position on a reciprocable carrier and for ejecting previously filled trays.

The invention further comprises means for effecting the operations referred to in the preceding four paragraphs in the required timed relation.

In the accompanying drawings,

FIGURES 1A and 1B are a side elevation of a mechanism embodying the invention for receiving cigarettes and delivering them to a tray or support;

FIGURES 2A and 2B are a plan view of the lower part of the mechanism of FIGURE 1;

FIGURES 3 and 4 are diagrammatic elevations showing two positions of the mechanism of FIGURES l and 2;

FIGURE 5 is a diagram showing the operation of the transfer pusher.

In carrying the invention into effect according to one convenient mode as illustrated in the drawings, the cigarettes are delivered in the usual manner as from the delivery plate 2A and deflector 4A of a continuous rod cigarette making machine such as shown in US. Patent 2,124,397, granted July 19, 1938, to George W. Gwinn and James W. Leary on Cigarette Catcher to the substantially horizontal surface of a collecting or catcher belt 1 suitably supported and driven. Preferably but not essentially the cigarettes are delivered to the belt surface, by suitable known mechanism, so as to provide two adjacent rows of cigarettes the cigarettes lying transversely with respect to their direction of travel on the belt or belts. The delivery end of the belt (or belts if more than one is, provided) enters between vertical side plates 2 which together with an end plate 3 constitute a reservoir in which the delivered cigarettes can accumulate against a suitable abutment to aiford a suflicient reserve for a subsequent tray filling operation. The reservoir is supported by a structure including, side plate 4, and the belt passes over an adjustable roller 5 and a driving roller 6. The outer end of such reservoir structure has two downwardly directed throat openings 7, one opposite each row of cigarettes, each opening leading to a vertical tube 8 of flat rectangular shape in horizontal cross section adapted to receive the cigarettes horizontally as a vertical stack. The upper section of each tube 8 is fixed to a bracket 9 and the upper end of the wall thereof adjacent the collecting belt is upwardly and outwardly inclined as shown at 10 towards the end roller 6 of the belt to provide a throat surface down which the cigarettes can roll into the tube 8. In the opposite wall of each throat opening there is provided a controlling or refuser roller 11 extending through a slot partly across the throat opening. These rollers 11 are polygonal in cross section, the sides 12 being slightly concave, and are proportioned and driven so as to permit only one cigarette at a time to pass into the rectangular tube 8. Each tube 8 also comprises a lower section 13 slidable telescopically over the fixed upper section 8 and movable vertically upwardly therein as later described. These slidable tube sections 8 and 13 are carried by a horizontal rectangular frame 14 the outer cross member 15 of which has two grooved pulleys 16 respectively engaged with round section vertical guide pillars 17 extending upwardly from the main frame 18 of the machine. The length of the tube frame 14 is such that the trays into which the cigarettes are to be transferred can be inserted beneath it. A downward extension 19 at the outer end of the tube frame is provided with an anchorage 20 for a lifting cable 21 which extends upwardly between the guide pillars 17 and is secured to a centrally located lifting pulley 22 so that rotation of the latter raises or lowers the frame 14 and tubes 13 as re-. quired. The lifting pulley 22 carries a pinion 23 meshed with a gear quadrant 24 on an operating cable drum 25 suitably grooved and to which one end of an operating cable 26 is anchored. The operating cable 26 passes over guide pulleys 27, 28, 29 and is secured to a pivotally mounted follower lever 30 controlled by a snail cam 31 having a spiral or like surface shaped in a series of steps. Each movable section 13 of the cigarette tubes has an outlet 32 at its lower end provided with a pivoted shutter 33, the shutters being controlled by spring loaded overcentre trip mechanism 34. It may be explained here that the cigarette tubes 13 are arranged to deliver the cigarettes into a pair of trays 35 (see FIGURES 3 and 4) which are reciprocated horizontally beneath the tubes, the latter being raised after each traverse of the trays so that the cigarettes are arranged in layers. When the trays are filled the shutters 33 are closed to stop the delivery of cigarettes to permit the filled trays to be removed and replaced by empty trays.

A tray carrier is provided for receiving two trays side by side. Each tray is open on both sides and has upstanding ends suitably shaped for use on a packaging ma chine or alternately being adapted to be hung on a rack for drying or storage purposes. The carrier comprises a generally rectangular frame 36 provided with rollers or wheels 37 which run in horizontal guide tracks 38 arranged so that the trays can be traversed endwise beneath the lower delivery ends of the cigarette tubes 13. The carrier has supports 39 and guides 40 for the ends of the r I V Y 3 trays so that these can be pushed sideways upon the carrier and ejected similarly from the opposite side thereof. The inner end of the tray carrier is connected by a link 41' to one end of an operating lever 42 pivotally mounted at 43 on the base 18 of the machine for angular movement horizontally, and an intermediate point 44 on the lever 42 is connected by a link 45 to a crank disc 46 rotation of which displaces the carrier back and forth from a position in which the cigarette tube outlets are immediately over the inner ends of the trays to a position in which said outlets are immediately over the outer ends of the trays. 'The crank disc 46 is driven from the main drive of the'cigarette machine through a variable speed gear or variator 47 and a clutch 48, the latter being arranged to be engagedand disengaged as required by a shifting lever 49 actuated by a cam 49* through a lever 49 having a roller 49 engaging said cam which is secured to bevel gear 49 on a continuously driven shaft 55 (mentioned later). The aforementioned snail cam 31 is also continuously driven. The drive of the crank disc 46 is by way of bevel gears 50, worm gearing 51, a shaft 52, and belt drive 53 to the variator 47. The drive from the cigarette machine is indicated at 54.

Horizontal guides (not shown) for supporting two trays areprovided to, lie in front of the tray carrier when the latter occupies its outermost position (FIGURE 4), and means is provided for pushing these empty trays upon the carrier and at the same time ejecting the two filled trays to guides (not shown) located upon the opposite side of the carrier in a position from which they can conveniently be removed. This action is effected by a pusher mechanism having an intermittent motion drive. In a convenient arrangement the continuously driven shaft 55 of the snail cam 31 carries a pin wheel 56 forming part of a Geneva gear the slot wheel 57 of which is arranged todrive two cams, a cam 58 for operating a pusher lever 59 and a cam 60 for operating a supporting bar 61 for a pusher member 62 which latter is hingedly linked at '63 to the upper end of the pusher lever 59. At the appropriate time the pusher lever 59 is operated by its cam 58 and the pusher member support bar 61 is held in raised position to displace the previously positioned empty trays forwardly and eject the filled trays. At the end of its forward motion the second cam 60 causes the pusher member support bar 61 to be lowered and allows the pusher member 62 to drop clear of the trays for its return stroke. The pusher member 62 is of generally rectangular form and includes a spacer member 62 between the two trays so that these are correctly positioned at the end of the pusher stroke. The pusher support bar 61 is horizontally located at a suitable position below the cigarette tube outlets and is carried on pivoted arms 64. The pusher member 62 is caused to slide along the pusher bar 61 for tray operation, the bar 61 dropping at the end of the stroke as explained above.

The arrangement is such that the total vertical move ment of the telescopic tube sections 13 as determined by one snail cam 31, is slightly less than the depth of the trays 35, and when the tube sections 13 occupy their lowest position the outlets are about one and a half cigarette diameters from the bottom of the trays. At the commencement of filling the tubes are in the above described position and at the inner ends of the trays as seen in FIGURE 3. The carrier is operated by the mechanism described to traverse the trays beneath the tubes, the initial tray movement opening the shutters 33 so that cigarettes roll from the outlets and form an even layer on the tray bottom. At the end of the stroke the first step of the rotating snail cam 31 raises the lower tube sections 13 by the required amount so that on the return stroke of'the trays a second layer of cigarettes is laid upon the first, these operations being repeated until the trays are full, see FIGURE 4. At this stage of the operationthe upward movement of the tubes actuates the rier is brought to rest by disengagement of the driving clutch 48 under its cam control. The snail cam 31 con tinues to operate to raise the tubes clear of the trays and the intermittent drive of the pusher then comes into action to eject the filled trays by pushing two empty trays into position for filling on the carrier. The continuously rotating snail cam 31 then permits the cigarette tubes to descend to the bottom of the empty trays and the above cycle of operations recommences.

Referring to FIGURE 5, the trays shown at T have been placed in position by the operator to await transference to the filling position. The pusher 62 is inoperative during the tray filling operation. The trays shown at T are in filling position, the pusher 62 being shown in dropped position before returning. The ejected trays are shown at T It will be appreciated that during the changes of the trays when the tube shutters are closed, cigarettes are ac cumulating on the belt or belts in the reservoir. The rate of feed of cigarettes from the tubes to the tray is adjusted to be less than the rate of supply fromthe cigarette making machine by a suitable amount so that the accumulated reserve increases and decreases whilst maintaining the required supply to the delivery tubes.

It will be understood that themeans for driving and timing the operations of the various parts of the machine described above are given by way of example and can obviously be widely varied if desired.

What is claimed is:

1. An apparatus for automatically collecting cigarettes from a source of supply and delivering them into a container, said apparatus comprising a conveyor for conveying cigarettes from said source of supply to a discharge position, a telescoping chute connected to receive cigarettes from said discharge position and to conduct them downwardly in stacked side by side relationship, a gate mounted at the lower end of said chute for controlling the discharge of cigarettes from said chute to a tray for receiving said discharged cigarettes and means for raising said chute relative to said tray each time a layer is deposited.

2. In a cigarette making machine a collecting mechanism comprising a conveyor to receive continuously finished cigarettes and convey them to a discharge position, a reservoir to receive said cigarettes so as not to interrupt the flow of cigarettes from said conveyor having a throat opening down which the cigarettes can be discharged, a downwardly extending feed control mechanism having one end attached to said throat opening to receive said cigarettes and having the other end discharging said cigarettes in a controlled manner to a removable container to collect said cigarettes, means for vertically moving said feed control mechanism to permit cigarettes to be delivered to said container in layers, and means to eject said container after it has been filled.

3. An automatic cigarette collector comprising, a feed for feeding finished cigarettes in said collector, a conveyor to transfer said cigaretes to a discharge point, a reservoir located at said discharge point to receive and temporarily store said cigarettes, a downwardly extending tube for receiving said cigarettes from said reservoir and discharging them laterally through its lower end to a horizontally reciprocating tray beneath the lower end of said tube adapted to-receive cigarettes, and means for vertically moving said tube to permit cigarettes to be delivered to said tray in layers.

4. An apparatus for automatically placing cigarettes in a collecting tray, comprising a conveyor, means for delivering cigarettes transversely to said conveyor, a reservoir station in which cigarettes can accumulate having a throat down which cigarettes can roll in a controlled manner, a telescopic tube attached to said throat, means to raise and lower the outlet of said tube as cigarettes trip mechanism 34 to close the shutters and the tray carare delivered to .a tray located at the outlet of said tube to receive said cigarettes.

5. An automatic tray filler comprising, a source of supply of cigarettes to be fed to said tray filler, a conveyor belt to laterally convey said cigarettes, a feed station to receive and control the feed of said cigarettes, a feeding tube to receive the controlled cigarettes and deliver them to a tray to be filled by said tube, means for vertically moving said feeding tube to permit cigarettes to be delivered to said tray in layers, a pusher mechanism and an intermittent motion drive to eject the filled trays and place empty trays under the feeding tube.

6. A cigarette collecting device, comprising a source of supply of finished cigarettes, parallel spaced conveyors located in front of said source of supply to receive and transfer said cigarettes to a discharge position, a reservoir to collect the overflow of said cigarettes from said discharge position in two groups, said reservoir having two throat openings down which the cigarettes can pass, a refuser extending across said throat openings permitting only one cigarette at a time to laterally pass through said throat openings, a pair of rectangular telescoping tubes positioned beneath said openings to receive and feed cigarettes in a controlled manner to reciprocating trays beneath said tubes to receive cigarettes in layers and a timing mechanism for efiecting the feeding operations in timed relationship.

7. In a cigarette making machine, a collecting mechanism comprising means for supplying finished cigarettes, a conveyor device for transferring said cigarettes to a discharge point, a reservoir for receiving cigarettes at one end from said discharge point and having an opening at the other end to allow cigarettes to pass therethrough, a rotating refuser located at the opening of said reservoir permitting one cigarette at a time in side by side contacting relationship to pass through said opening, a downwardly extending telescoping tube located beneath said opening to receive and laterally stack cigarettes and to feed said cigarettes to a discharge point in a controlled manner to a tray oscillating horizontally back and forth beneath said tube to receive cigarettes in layers and means for vertically moving said tube to permit cigarettes to be de livered to said tray in superimposed layers.

8. In a cigarette making machine, a collecting mechanism comprising a reservoir to accumulate finished cigarettes, said reservoir having a throat opening through which cigarettes pass, a rotatable member located at said throat opening to allow cigarettes one at a time to pass through said opening, a downwardly extending tube to receive cigarettes laterally in a single column, a second tube slidable telescopically over the said first tube and permitting only one cigarette at a time to laterally pass through its discharge end to a horizontally reciprocating tray located beneath said second tube to receive cigarettes from said second tube, and a timing mechanism to retract the said tube a distance corresponding to the thickness of one cigarette after each traverse of the tray so that the cigaretes will be deposited in layers in said tra 9 In a cigarette making machine a collecting mechanism comprising a source of supply of finished cigarettes,

a reservoir receiving said cigarettes at one end and having a throat opening at the other end to allow cigarettes to pass therethrough, a refuser roller located partly across the throat opening of said reservoir to permit only one cigarette to laterally pass through said opening, a first downwardly extending stationary tube located beneath the throat opening of said reservoir to receive and laterally stack cigarettes, a second tube slidable in line over said first tube controlling the feeding of said cigarettes to its discharge end to deliver cigarettes to a tray reciprocating beneath said tubes to receive said cigarettes and a spiral cam to raise said second tube by the required amount so that after each cigarette feeding traverse of the said tray another layer of cigarettes is laid upon the first so that the cigarettes are arranged in layers in said tray until said trays are full.

t 10. In an automatic cigarette tray loading device, a pair of telescopic tubes arranged above a pair of hori-' zontally reciprocable trays, means for feeding cigarettes into said tubes from a source of supply of cigarettes, shutters attached on the outlet end of said tubes to control the feed of said cigarettes therefrom, a spring loaded over-centre trip mechanism to open said shutters to allow cigarettes to be fed from said tubes into said trays and to close said shutters when the said trays are filled so as to permit the filled trays to be removed.

11. An apparatus for automatically collecting cigarettes from a source and delivering them into trays, comprising a conveyor belt to convey said cigarettes to a discharge outlet, a reservoir to receive cigarettes from said belt and having an opening through which cigarettes can pass, a mechanism attached to the discharge opening of said reservoir to receive cigarettes laterally in a column and to control the feed of said cigarettes to a discharge point to deliver cigarettes to a tray beneath said cigarettes, means for vertically moving said mechanism to permit cigarettes to be delivered to said tray in layers, and a tray carrier to reciprocate said trays horizontally under said discharge point and to eject said trays after they are full.

12. An automatic cigarette handling apparatus, comprising a cigarette conveyor continuously conveying cigarettes to a point of discharge, a reservoir for receiving said cigarettes having a discharge opening through which cigarettes pass, a feed control to control the feeding of said cigarettes through said discharge opening, a downwardly extending telescoping conveyer device to receive said cigarettes and direct them in a controlled manner to its outlet, means for raising and lowering the outlet of said telescoping conveyer to deliver cigarettes to trays beneath said outlet to receive said cigarettes, a carrier to support said trays, a mechanism to reciprocate said carrier horizontally so as to cause cigarettes to be arranged in layers as they are deposited in said trays, and an intermittent mechanism to actuate said carrier so as to eject said trays when they are full.

13. An apparatus for automatically collecting cigarettes from a source and delivering them into a tray, comprising a telescoping chute for transversely transferring cigarettes downwardly in side contact relationship to a tray beneath said telescoping chute to receive said cigarettes, a pusher member to contact with said tray and a cam actuated lever for actuating said pusher member to reciprocate said tray and means for vertically moving said telescoping chute to permit said tray to receive cigarettes in layers.

14. An automatic cigarette tray loading device, comprising a reservoir receiving cigarettes from a source of supply, a feeding mechanism delivering said cigarettes in a controlled manner to a discharge point to discharge cigarettes to a tray beneath said feeding mechanism to receive said controlled cigarettes, a carrier to support said tray, a support bar to support said carrier in operative position and a cam device operated in timed relationship with said feeding mechanism so as to lower the support bar when the tray is filled for removing the tray and permitting the carrier to drop clear of the tray for its return stroke.

15. In a cigarette making machine a collecting mechanism comprising a conveyor belt to convey finished cigarettes to a discharge location, a reservoir located at the delivery end of said conveyor belt to store cigarettes received from said conveyor belt, said reservoir having a downwardly directed throat opening to permit cigarettes to be delivered therethrough in side by side contacting relationship, a refuser located at said opening to permit cigarettes to laterally pass through said opening, a downwardly extending tube arrangement to guide said cigarettes laterally to its discharge end to discharge cigarettes to a tray reciprocating beneath said tube to receive cigarettes from said tube, a mechanism to reciprocate said trays, means for vertically moving said tube to permit to be removed.

cigarettes to be delivered to said tray inlayers and a cam actuated clutch to disengage the reciprocating mechanism 'when the tray is'full so as to allowthe full tray 16. In an automatic cigarette loading mechanism, a continuously moving conveyor belt feeding cigarettes from a source of supply to a discharge location, a receiving reservoir to store said cigarettes having a throat through which cigarettes can pass, a telescopic tube section attached at the delivery end of said reservoir to align cigarettes laterally in a single stack, a control shutter located at the delivery end of said tube to control the feed of said cigarettes therefrom to a tray reciprocating beneath said tube to receive cigarettes in layers from said tube, a pusher member to eject said trays when full, a' rotating spiral cam to raise the said tube section by a sufli cient amount so that on the return travel of the trays another layer of cigarettes is deposited over the rest, a clutch controlled by said spiral cam to disengage the reciprocating motion after the tray is full, an intermittent motion driven pusher-member to eject the full tray and a Geneva gear to control the said intermittent motion drive in timed relationship-with the-rest of said cigarette loading mechanism. 7 7

540,723 Colgin June 11, 1895 906,291 Robb Dec. 8, 1908 933,839 Howard Sept." 14, 1909 1,535,784 Koerner Apr. 28, 1925 2,330,000 Molins a- Sept. 21, 1943 2,592,642 Bardet Apr. 15, 1952 2,603,395 Molins et a1. July 15, 1952 2,752,743 Friedli July 3, 1956 FOREIGN PATENTS 459,899 Great Britain Jan. 18, 1937, 

